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FEATURES: BEING THERE: GIRO D'ITALIA TT
Tim Maloney
May 24, 2011
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On a hot Tuesday afternoon in Belluno, Italy, Road Bike Action paid another visit to the 2011 Giro d'Italia, this time to Stage 16, an uphill individual time trial over 12.7km from Belluno to the ski station of Nevegal in the Prealpi Trevigiani mountains. It was beautiful day for a race unless you were a Giro d'Italia rider, who mostly complained about the hot sun. Thousands of tifosi flocked to the climb to cheer on the face corridore as they made their way up the slopes of Nevegal.
Road Bike Action was invited to follow the 15th place rider on Giro GC, featherweight French climber Hubert Dupont, who together with his Ag2r La Mondiale teammate John Gadret have been among the revelations of this years Giro. Dupont's Ag2r teammate Cyril Dessel explains the difficulties of the parcours before the start.
Kasputis makes a last minute radio check of Dupont's radio before the start.
Shotgun seat besides Ag2r La Mondiale director Arturis Kasputis, with the new TV equipped Garmin Nuvi and start list, awaiting the start in Belluno.
Dupont and Kasputis review the parcours for the key points where the French climber needs to make his major efforts.
Allez! Dupont pops out of the box in Belluno, ready to rock on the tough climb to come. Due to the course, all the riders left their specialized TT bikes in the team trucks and used their standard road bikes.
Kasputis is constantly on the horn to Dupont, encouraging him ("allez, allez") and providing crucial course information about the gradient and the upcoming turns on the climb.
On the first steep ramp of the Nevegal climb with 10km to go, Dupont punches it "en dansent" (out of the saddle) in front of a wall of screaming tifosi as he rode skyward.
With 2km to race, the gradient leveled out and Dupont kept up his full gas effort.
Allez Hubert! Kasputis pulls the Ag2r La Mondiale team car into the deviation as Dupont powers home "en dansent" with 450m to go.
 
Dupont finished 21st on the stage, 1'48" behind stage winner, Maglia Rosa Alberto Contador. Afterwards, Dupont was not that happy with his performance, telling Road Bike Action "it was hard to get my rhythm today; I expected to ride faster." Dupont maintained his 15th place on GC, while his teammate John Gadret was 16th on the stage, 1'27" behind Contador and kept his 4th place on GC in the 2011 Giro with five stages remaining. |
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